Asteroid Mining Company To Reveal Plans For Hammering Into Space Rocks

As Earth's precious resources run low, some companies are looking
skyward to replenish our planet's supply of rare metals and other
key elements.

A new firm called Deep Space Industries just announced plans to
launch a fleet of small spacecraft in 2015 to scope out potential
asteroid mining targets. These probes, called FireFlies, would
return to Earth with samples.

The next step would be to send bigger spacecraft capable of
harvesting metals, like gold and platinum, and water from the
asteroids.

More details will be announced at a press conference in Santa
Monica, California, today at 1 p.m. on the East Coast. Watch the
live webcast here.